Combined cover and center-page-insert sheet feeding and folding mechanism.



APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2, I906.

Patented June 12, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Thin 6dU6JJ-- 17, 67

(j a! 7 4M 7!, M I 4 H. M. BARBER.

COMBINED 'COVEII AND CENTER PAGE INSERT SHEET FEEDING AND FOLDINGMECHANISM.

APPLICATION mzb OCT. 2. 1906.

Patented June 12, 1917;.

5 SHEETS-MEET 2- H. M. BARBER. COMBINED COVER AND CENTER PAGE INSERTSHEET FEEDING AND FOLDING MECHANISM.-

.Armcmon FILED on. 2. 190a.

1,229,399. Patented June 12, 1917.

-5 SNEETS SHEET 3- Wmmewx- R 5 H. M. BARBER. COMBINED COVER AND CENTERPAGE INSERT ,SHEET FEEDING ANDFOL DING MECHANISM.

. APPLICATION FlLED OCT. 2,1906. 1,229,399.

Patentedilune 12, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' H.M BARBER.

COMBINED CUVER AND CENTER PAGE INSERT SHEET FEEDING AND FOLDINGMECHANISM.

' APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2. 190s.

1,229,399. N Patented June 12,1917.

5 spurns-mini.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. HOWARD BARR ER, OF STONINGTON, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNOR, IBY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 C. B. COTTRELL & SONS COMPANY, OFNEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

COMBINED COVER AND CENTER-PAGE-INSERT SHEET FEEDING AND'FOLIDINGMECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 116 12, 1917.

Application filed October 2, 1906. Serial No. 337,101.

To. all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, Howano M. BARBER, a'citizen of theUnited States, andresident of Stonington, in the county of New London and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in CombinedCover and Center-Page-Insert Sheet Feeding and Folding Mechanisms, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention contemplates novel mechanism arranged to cut combinedpreviously printed cover and center page insert sheets from a sourceother than the main press and feed the same into position to beassembled with the printed product as it comes from the pressandsubsequently folded together with said printed product and finallydeliveredto a predetermined point.

This invention further contemplates a mechanism as above described whichwill cut and feed the combined previously printed cover and center pageinserts from aweb sheet supply.

In the accompanying drawings,

liigure 1. is a view of the machine in front elevation Fig. 2 is avertical transverse section indicating diagrammatically the severalparts which cooperate to produce the assembling and folding together ofthe printed product and combined cover and center page insert sheets;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the driving connections betweenthe several parts;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section taken immediately inside theframing and illustrating the parts of the mechanism at the front side ofthe machine for controlling the movements of the grippers and foldingdevices on the several cylinders;

Fig. 5 is a detail section on the same scale as Fig. 4, taken adjacentto the back frame of the machine and showing the remaining parts of themechanisms for controlling the movements of the grippers and foldingdevices on the several cylinders, and

Fig. dis a detail section showing the box cam and truck roll arranged tocontrol the movement of the folding blade on one of the foldingcylinders.

The framing-of the machine is denoted. by 10. This machine is shown asprovided with slitting mechanism mounted in position to divide theprinted web as it comes from the press into a plurality of Webs. TheseWales are led around half-turners and rollers and are assembled into agroup before reaching the cutting mechanism.

In the present instance I haveshown the slitting mechanism as comprisingthree slitters 12 arranged to slit the printed web as it comes from thepress, into four webs which four webs pass around four halfturners 13and from thence around rolls 14. and finally between-rolls 15, 16. Apair of rotary smooth-edged cutters 17 18 are mounted in the machineframing 10 in position to receive the assembled group of previouslyprinted webs and cut sheets there from of the desired lengths.

Stationary sheet guides 19, 20 are arranged in position to receive theassembled group of previously printed webs from the cutting mechanismand direct the samebetween the folding cylinders 21, 22. IThe foldingcylinder 21 is provided with" set of grippers 23 and the foldingcylinder 22 with a set of grippers 24. The folding cylinder 21 is alsoprovided with a folding blade 25 which is arranged to coact with thefloating folding aw 26 carried by the folding cylinder 22. The deliverycylinder is denoted by 27 and it is provided with a floating folding jaw28 arranged to cooperate with a folding blade 29 mountedon the foldingcylinder 22.

Carrying tapes 30, 31 are arranged in position to receive the signaturefrom the delivery cylinder 27 and convey it to any suitable point, as,for instance, a suitable delivery mechanism 33 of the well known packertype. I

The mechanism for feeding the combined cover and center page insertsheets one at a time to the folding cylinder 22 to be assembled togetherwith the groups of the previously printed sheets from thepress is asfollows. The multicolor cover and center page insert web is rewound on asuitable core 34 together with a blotter web 35 for preventing offset.This web roll is mounted in suitable supports in themachine framing 10.The blotter Web 35 iswound upon core 36 mounted insuitable bearingsv inthe ma chine framing 10.' The cover and :center page insert web is ledfrom its roll into engagement with carrying tapes 37 which pass aroundrollers 38 and from thence the web is led to the cutting mechanism whichin the present instance comprises two rotary smooth-edged cutters 39, 40arranged to cut the combined cover and center page insert sheets fromthe web. A pair of stationary guides 41, 42 are arranged in position toreceive the web as it leaves the cutting mechanism and direct the sameto the feeding cylinder This feeding cylinder 43 is provided with a setof grippers 44 arranged to engage the advance edges of the sheets asthey come from the guides 41, 42 and deliver the same one by one to theset of grippers 24 "on the folding cylinder 22 at the required times.

Proceeding to describe the driving and operating mechanism for theseveral parts; the slitting mechanism and the rolls for feeding theplurality of previously printed webs to the cutters are driven from thepress as follows. A vertical shaft 45 is driven from a horizontal shaft46 and it in turn drives the slitting roll 47. This slitting roll has ageared connection with the shaft 11 of the slitte'rs 12. The slittingroll shaft drives the plurality of web feeding rolls 14 through a trainof gears 48 which drives a cross shaft 49 having bevel gear connectionswith the shafts of the rolls 14. The web assembling rolls 15 and 16 aredriven from one of the rolls 14 through a train. of gears 50.

The rolls which wind'up the offset web are denoted by 51, 52 and theyareconnected to the gear 54 of the delivery cylinder 27 through a trainof gears 53. The gear 54 drives a pinion 55 on a driving roll shaft 56of the carrying tapes 31. This gear 54 also meshes with a gear 57 fixedto the shaft 58 of the folding cylinder 22. This gear 57 drives a gear59 on the shaft 60 of the folding cylinder 21. This gear 59 drives agear 61 on the cutter 18 through an idler gear 62. This cutter 18 isalso provided with a gear 63 which meshes with a gear 64 on the cutter17. The gear 57 drives the cutter 40 through a train of gears 65, 66, 6768, and the cutter 40 is provided with a gear 69 which meshes with agear 70 on the cutter 39. The proportions of these gears are such thatthe cutters 39-, 40 a re driven at onehalf the speed of the cutters 17and 18. The

cover and center page insert web carrying tapes 37 are driven from thecutter 39, through gearing 71, 72. The cover and center page insertsheet feeding cylinder 43 is driven at. varying speeds through irregulargears 73, 74, fixed to the shafts of the cylinders 22 and 43respectively, the shape of the said irregular gears being such that thecyl inder 43 will be driven at thespeed of the cover and center pageinsert web at the grippers, is as follows.

edge of the web as it is delivered from the guides 41, 42, and at thesurface speed of the folding cylinder 22 at the time the cover andcenter page insert sheet is transferred to the folding cylinder 22 andat an accelerated speed intermediate these two points.

The mechanism arranged to open the set of grippers 23 on the foldingcylinder 21 every other revolution of the cylinder so that every othergroup of assembled sheets from the press may be engaged by the said Agear 75 is fixed to the shaft 60, which gear drives a gear 76 twice thesize of the gear 75. This gear 76 is loosely mounted on a stud 77. Agear 78 is fixed to the gear 76 and is loosely mounted on the stud 77,which gear 78 drives a gear 79 of the same size as the gear 78, the gear79 being loosely mounted on the shaft 60 of the folding cylinder 21.This gear 79 has fixed thereto a cam 80 loosely mounted on the shaft 60of the cylinder 21, which cam is arranged to travel at one-half thespeed of the cylinder 21 so that it will engage the gripper operatingstud roller 81 every other revolution of the said cylinder.

The folding cylinder 22 is twice the size of the folding cylinder 21 andits set of grippers 24 are opened to receive the advance edge of thecombined cover and-center page insert sheet as it is delivered fromthegrippers 44 on'the cylinder 43 by providing a stationary cam 82arranged to engage the gripper operating stud roller 83. This set ofgrippers 24 is also opened at the proper time to release the combinedcover and center page insert sheet by means of a stationary cam 84arranged in position to engage the gripper operating stud roller 83.

A stationary box cam 85 is arranged in position to engage the studroller 86 which controls the movement of the folding blade complishedthrough the engagement of its stud roller 90 with the outer cam groove91 in the stationary box cam 92.

The floating of the blade 29 on the cylinder 22 is accomplished by theengagement of its stud roller 93 with the inner cam groove 94 of the boxcam 92. The opening of the floating folding jaw 28 in the deliverycylinder 27 is accomplished at the time of coaction with the foldingblade 29 on the'cylinder 22, by means of a stationary cam 95 whichengages the operating stud roller 96. The opening of the floatingfolding j aw 28 at the proper time to release the assembled group ofsheets after their second fold for.

delivering the sheets between the carrier tapes 80, 31, is accomplishedthrough a stationary cam 97 which engages the said operatingstud roller96. The floating of the folding jaw 28 is accomplished by means of astationary cam 98, the groove 99 of which engages an operating studroller 100 of the said floating folding jaw.

The opening of the set of grippers 44 on the cylinder 43 for receivingthe advance edge of the combined cover and center page insert sheet isaccomplished by the engagement of a stationary cam 101 with operatingstud roller 102. The opening of this set of grippers 44- at the propertime for delivering the advance edge of each combined cover and centerpage insert sheet to the grippers 24 on the cylinder 22,,isaccon'iplished by the engagement of a stationary cam 103 with the saidgripper operating stud roller 102.

The operation of the machine as herei described is as follows:

The web containing the multicolor cover and center page insert iscarried over certain of the feed rolls 88, beneath the carrier tapes 37and from thence down between the cutters 39 and 40 and between theguides 41, 42. The advance edge of the web as it leaves the guides 41,42, is seized by the setof grippers 44 just before the combined coverand center page insert sheet is severed from the web by the cutters 39,40. The cylinder 43 makes one revolutionfor each sheet fed and it has avarying speed as hereinbefore set forth, whereby the surface speed ofthe cylinder 43 is'the same as the speed of the web at the time thegrippers 44 engage its advance edge, a faster speed immediatelythereafter and a surface speed equal to the surface speed of thecylinder 22 as the advance edge of the sheet is transferred to the setof grippers 24 on the said cylinder 22. This insures an absolute sheetregister of the cover and center page insert sheet with the assembledgroups of sheets cut and fed from the press. The grippers 24 bring thecom bined cover and center page insert sheet into position to be foldedwith two groups of previously printed sheets from the press as follows.As the printed web comes from the press, it is slit into a plurality ofwebs and then assembled and fed down between the cutters 17 and 18.These cutters 17 and 18 make two revolutions for each revolution of thecutters 39 and 40, so thatonly one combined cover and center page insertsheet is supplied for each two groups of assembled sheets that are cutfrom the main Webs. The folding cylinder 21 and its set of grippers23are so timed that the grippers 23 will engage the advance edges of eachalternate group of assembled sheets from the press so that one group ofassembled sheets will be carried around the cylinder 21 at the propertime to meet the next succeeding group of sheets, which succeeding groupwill be fed with its advanceedges free down between the cylinders 21 and22 outside of the combined cover and center page insert on the cylinder22. The two groups of sheets and the combined cover and center pageinsert sheet are folded together by the operation of the foldingmechanism 25, 26, the grippers 2S and 24 having been opened. After theassembled groups of sheets from the press and the combined cover andcenter page insert sheet have been folded once, a second fold isimparted thereto and the same transferred to the delivery cylinder 27 bythe co6peration of the folding blade 29 and floating folding jaw 28. Itis to be understood that the floating folding aw 26 is opened at theproper time to release the sheets from the cylinder 22. After the sheetshave received their second fold, they are delivered between the carryingtapes 80, 31 and from thence carried to any suitable delivery device 33.

WVhat I claim is:

1. Means for cutting a sheet from. a previously printed combined coverand center page insert web, feeding means for said sheet, means forcutting a group of sheets from another previously printed web, feedingmeans for said group, means for associating the combined cover andcenter page insert sheet with the said group of sheets and means forsubmitting-the same to a plurality of folding operations.

2. Means for cutting a sheet from a previously printed combined coverand center page insert web, feeding means for said sheet, means forcutting a plurality of groups of sheets from another previously printedweb, feeding means for said groups, means for associating the combinedcover and center ,page insert sheet with the said groups of sheets, andmeans for submitting the same to a plurality of folding operatlons.

3. Means for cutting a sheet froma previously printed combined cover andcenter page insert web, means for feeding said sheet to a predeterminedpoint, means for cutting a group of sheets from another previouslyprinted web and feeding it to said predetermined point, means forassociating said group with the combined cover and center page insertsheet, and means for submitting the same to a plurality of foldingoperations.

. 4. Means for cutting and feeding a plurality of groups of sheets froma web fed from a press, to a predetermined point, means for cuttingsheets from a roll of previously printed combined cover and center pageinsert web, and feeding them one at a time into position to beassociated with the assembled plurality of groups of sheets cut from thepreviously printed web and means for submitting the same to a pluralityof folding operations.

5. Folding cylinders, means for cutting a sheet from a previouslyprinted combined cover and center page insert web and feeding it to oneof the folding cylinders,mea'ns for cutting a group ofsheets fromanother previously prlnted web and feeding it to said folding cylinders,means for associating said group with said combined cover andcenter'page insert sheet and means for folding the so associated sheetstogether.

6. Folding cylinders, means for feeding a group of sheets thereto, meansfor cut ting sheets from a roll of previously printed combined cover andcenter page insert web, and a cylinder arranged to feed the sheets oneat a time to one of the folding cylinders to be associated thereon withthe said group of sheets and folded together therewith.

7. Folding cylinders, means for.feeding a plurality of groups of shietsthereto, means for cutting sheets from a roll of previously printedcombined cover and center page insert web, and a cylinder'arranged tofeed the sheetsone at a time to oneof the folding cylinders. to beassociated thereon with the plurality of groups of sheets and foldedtogether therewith.

8. Folding cylinders, means for feeding a group of sheets thereto, meansfor cutting sheets from a roll of previously printed combined cover andcenter page insert web,

a cylinder arranged to feed the sheets one at a time to one of thefolding cylinders to be associated thereon with the group of sheets andfolded together therewith, and means for imparting a variable speed tothe feeding cylinder whereby it will be caused to travel at the speed ofthe web at the time of engaging the advance edges uf'the same and at thesurface speed of the folding cylin'der at the time of transferring thesheet thereto.

9. Three folding cylinders, means for feeding a group of sheets to thefirst two folding cylinders, from a roll of previously printed combinedcover and center page insert web, and feeding them one at a time to oneof the first two folding cylinders to: be associated thereon with thesaid group of sheets, the first two folding cylinders being arranged toim- Copies of this patent may be obtained 101 means for cutting sheets-1 ,saaeoo part the first fold of the associated sheets and the secondand third cylinders being arranged to impart the second fold to the saidsheets.

10. Three folding cylinders, means for feeding a plurality of groups ofsheets to the first two cylinders, means for cutting sheets from a rollof previously printed combined cover andcenter page insert web, andfeeding them one at a time on to one of the first two folding cylindersto be associated thereon with the said plurality of groups of sheets,the first two folding cylinders being arranged to impart the first foldto the associated group and the second and third cylinders beingarranged to imp'ar the second fold to the said sheets.

11. Two foldin'g cylinders, means for ing them one at a time to one ofthe twofolding cylinders to be associated thereon with the two groups ofsheets, the said two cylinders being arranged to impart the first foldto the associated sheets, and a third folding cylinder arranged toco-act with the second folding cylinder to impart the second fold to theassociated sheets.

12. The combination with a collecting c'yl inder, of a forwardingcylinder provided with folding means coacting therewith, means on theforwarding cylinder for taking sheets from the collecting cylinder, webdelivery devices for said cylinders, web cut ting device's, means foradvancing a web, said means running at a lesser surface speed than thespeed of the web delivery devices,

means for cutting sheets from this web, and

HOWARD M. BARBER.

Witnesses:

A. R. STILLMAN, G. BURDICK.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 01 Iaten-ts, Washington,D. C.

